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Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook, 2nd Edition
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Book is very well written and easy to follow
- By Jeff A. from Wyoming PA USA on Friday, December 02, 2016
- Pros: Clearly written in a manner that makes the topics fun to read. The chapters on each topic are not so large that it overwhelms the reader with information...just enough to explain each topic.
- Cons: Honestly don't have any negative comments about the book. It explains the flight topics clearly and I enjoy reading it.
- Review: I already have my private pilot rating and was looking for a book that summarizes the flight topics in an organized structure. The book uses a cartoon style presentation with pictures that clearly presents the information in a way that makes all the topics fun to read and understand. Now that I have this book, I may get the CD to use in the car on my daily commute. For the price of this book, well worth it. I've been out of flying for a number of years now and this book is a quick read to bring me back up to speed again. Enjoy the book!
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 9 Other people found this review helpful.
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HUGE help!!!
- By Kristen from Frederick MD USA on Thursday, September 24, 2020
- Pros: Much more interesting and easy to comprehend.
- Cons: Some of his jokes are getting pretty old or are a little off-color for current generations. Would like to see those updated.
- Review:
This book has been so helpful and I wish I'd found it so much earlier in my training!
If you have trouble digesting the cold, wordy FAA Pilot Handbook, this is such an easier read. I'm picking up things I just couldn't from the FAA book. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 5 Other people found this review helpful.
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Loving this book
- By Vinnny from Bedford MA USA on Wednesday, May 18, 2022
- Pros: Makes the material so much easier to understand than the FAA books.
- Cons: The humor makes the book better, but there are a few cringey bits.
- Review:
I love (almost) everything about this book. I'm a new student pilot. I have a few hours of flight time under my belt. It's can be hard to schedule time where I am and I've been plowing through reading instead of flying. The amount of material is completely overwhelming. I started reading the FAA books and found myself reading fewer and fewer pages each day. I found the FAA books to be poorly organized for someone new to the subject. Terms would be used freely but not explained until several chapters later. I used Google and the FAA books in parallel.
I know this is not a review of the FAA books but the only way to explain why this book is so helpful is to show contrast. This book presents all the same material as the FAA book but in a more conversational style. It's more like having your flight instructor explain a concept to you and less like reading the encyclopedia. There are plenty of anecdotes to illustrate why something is important or how it fits into the bigger picture. There are so many pictures and diagrams and graphs that also serve to make things more understandable. There were lots of occasions where I found myself saying, "Oh! That's what the FAA book meant!" In a lot of cases, the FAA manual just needed one or two more sentences to pull it all together, but it just wasn't there.
The book is big. There are a LOT of pages. But I actually enjoy reading it and feel like I've learned so much!
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
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Excellent Study Guide
- By Jon Thornburgh from Redondo Beach CA USA on Friday, May 02, 2014
- Pros: Informative, well written, comprehensive
- Cons: None
- Review:
Excellent study guide. I recommend it to all my students.
Jon Thornburgh, Flight Instructor - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
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I wish I had this back when I was flight instructing
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Great book
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Thorough and entertaining
- By B.C. from Newport Beach CA USA on Saturday, March 24, 2012
- Pros: Thorough and easy to understand.
- Cons: Maybe too much material, but that's not really a con.
- Review:
I've always liked Rod's books for their thoroughness and descriptive photos and diagrams, as well as a bit of humor (which may help you remember the topic). Often there is too much information about a subject (even the shear size of the book is daunting), but that's better than not enough. If there was any confusion about a subject, a little time with Rod's books will clear it up. I'm a 17,000 hr global airline captain and I found this to be a great book for myself and my teenage nephew who wants to learn to fly. My explanations tend to be too complicated, and seeing how Rod presents the material has been a great help.
Capt. Ben C. - Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 3 Other people found this review helpful.
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Great Book
- By Eric from Vancouver WA USA on Tuesday, July 10, 2012
- Review: I have been flying for two years and wanted this book to brush up on some of the things that I learned when I started flying. It has done that as well as taught me things that I didn't know! It uses pictures to show concepts that are difficult to explain and really speeds things up. Overall great book.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 2 Other people found this review helpful.
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excellent read
- By Don from Potomac MD USA on Friday, April 04, 2014
- Pros: great text, very well designed, large colorful text and pictures
- Cons: book is heavy....no cons
- Review: Vert thorough complete text with the author's wacky sense of humor. He teaches concepts with samples outside of flying....enjoyable
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 2 Other people found this review helpful.
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Very informative and a pleasure to read
- By Bill from Cary NC USA on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
- Pros: Everything you need in one book
- Cons: Too big to put in your pocket and take everywhere you go
- Review: I would not have thought that a reference with so much information and so much detail would be such an easy and fun read. Coming back to flying after 20 years this is the perfect reference.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 2 Other people found this review helpful.
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Well done.
- By Greg martin from Shreveport LA USA on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
- Pros: Easy to apply and understand.
- Cons:
- Review: This book or the author is the best at explanations. Some learners like myself need to know the whys and hows in order to remember and apply aviation knowledge to our learning process. This has been the best resource I had read (and I have read a few).
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 1 Other people found this review helpful.
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Jeppesen with Comic Relief
- By Steve from Saint Petersburg FL USA on Tuesday, July 07, 2009
- Pros: Funny and informative
- Cons: none
- Review: Rod Machado does a great job conveying the more complicated topics with simple humor. The anecdotes help to relate to the lessons. Perfect for someone with a shorter attention span.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 1 Other people found this review helpful.
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I would buy this book again.
- By A Customer from Leesburg FL USA on Monday, January 30, 2012
- Pros: Easy to read. Lots of funny pictures. Hard to put the book down.
- Cons: None.
- Review: Easy and fun to read. Some subjects I didn't fully understand have been made clear. Thorough!
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 1 Other people found this review helpful.
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Great book for learning about flying
- By David from Bellevue WA USA on Monday, August 09, 2010
- Pros: Fun read while learning, lots of illustrations to aid in understanding
- Cons:
- Review: What I like about this book is the great delivery of information. It was easy to pick up on the topics because it felt like you had a dialog with Rod and his pictures and illustrations really help visualize the concepts. I recommend using the workbook to help quiz and check on what areas you need focus, and the workbook questions reference the textbook so you can review. Go to Rod's website to update sections with errata.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
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This is a pilot must have
- By A Customer from So Cal on Wednesday, April 06, 2011
- Pros: Complete, with an index that makes it easy to find information.
- Cons: Corny jokes
- Review: I am a 141 chief instructor. Rod's book is terrific for new students and a useful reference resource once you have your rating. His instrument book is even better.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
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Great Book for Experienced and Beginners
- By BigBrownPilot from Weatherford TX USA on Tuesday, August 25, 2009
- Pros: Easy to understand and humorous.
- Cons: None
- Review: I'm an ATP-rated pilot and I'm using the book to introduce my daughter to General Aviation. It's a great resource!
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The Art of Flying High - Safely
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great test prep material
- By gary from rancho palos verdes CA USA on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
- Pros: cross reference
- Cons: confusing with a few ambiguous terms
- Review: A well organized and carefully scripted workbook to aid in prep for the knowledge test. Each question cross references to the book page, column, paragraph. Very helpful
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Recipient was extremely pleased with this gift.
- By Suzanne from Albuquerque NM USA on Tuesday, January 13, 2009
- Pros: Son thinks the author is very authoritative and interesting.
- Cons: None of which I am aware.
- Review: I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my son, who is taking flying lessons. He was thrilled with it, and his first comment was "this is THE guy!". Not knowing anything about flying, I can only report on his reaction - and he would kill me if I gave out his email address!
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
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Great Book
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Very Good Book......
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I will use this and would buy it again.
- By Kip from Bankston AL USA on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
- Pros: Covers everything and should be used with the Workbook.
- Cons: Not really a Con but the workbook is needed.
- Review: This is excellent for a Private Pilot Student. And can get the job done for less cost than some other products.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
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At last - technical explanations that make sense!
- By Kathleen from Marietta NY USA on Tuesday, June 01, 2010
- Pros: Understandable; great illustrations and charts; use of color helps keep me awake
- Cons:
- Review: Rod Machado uses illustrations and humor to demystify complexities. I learned more from Rod's pilot handbook than any other source I had used to date. Hard to grasp concepts were made understandable, and I had a laugh along the way.
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- By Kim from Amarillo TX USA on Wednesday, July 16, 2008
- Pros: Analogies, pics, graphs, humor and simplicity of his writing style are pros
- Cons: The only con I have come across is the water/electric analogy. Seemed confusing as I know nothing about either, and intermingling the two confused me at times.
- Review: Excellent teaching by Machado. He uses analogies that make learning even the most complicated material much easier. The pics and diagrams bring the literature to life. The authentic pilot stories he shares are very interesting and educational.
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Great book!!
- By Debbie from Medford OR USA on Monday, November 09, 2009
- Review: Although each chapter is much longer than my class book, it has really helped to explain things where they make sense. With the visual pictures, etc. it helps to remember. I would highly recommend this book.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
- By Nancy, Stearman Driver from Spokane, WA on Saturday, June 02, 2007
- Review: [This review refers to the first edition] I love this book - it is my second one because I loaned one to a friend and didn't want to be without it just prior to my BFR!!
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This book should be mandatory reading for all student pilots
- By Alan from hartwell GA USA on Monday, February 04, 2008
- Pros: Good price and arrived on time.
- Cons: None
- Review: [This review refers to the first edition] I became familiar with this book while a student years ago. The book I purchased was for a friend's son who has expressed some interest in learning to fly and wanted to make sure he had what I believe to be the "student handbook for flying". Service buying this book and getting it delivered was exceptional.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 0 Other people found this review helpful.
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Very Impressive
- By Ken Blumenthal from Valparaiso IN USA on Wednesday, July 30, 2008
- Pros: Excellent, well written book with tons of information.
- Cons:
- Review: I was hesitant to order this book because some of the reviews I read about the author's attempt at humor. This new edition, however, is a treasure. It is full of useful information written in an easy to understand, not overly technical style. Rod Machado's experiences shine throughout the chapters and definitely make for an enjoyable approach to the many aspects of learning to fly. This book has really helped me in my studies as a student pilot and it is an invaluable reference. I highly recommend this book to any and all student pilots who are not only interested in passing the FAA test but who want to learn about airplanes and flying from a master teacher.
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I'm Learning a Lot
- By Duane from Sault Sainte Marie MI USA on Wednesday, July 01, 2015
- Pros: Great for a Student Pilot to help with Ground School.
- Cons: You may not like his style of humor.
- Review: I am using this book to supplement my computer based ground school. I'm finding that I am retaining more of what I learn much easier than I did before. Rod's humor may be a bit cornball at times, but I find it helps greatly to make the subjects he is covering easier to remember.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 5 Other people found this review helpful.
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nice hard cover book
- By Daniel from san diego CA USA on Tuesday, January 20, 2009
- Pros: very thourough
- Cons: some of the illustrations are confusiing
- Review: Its an ok book,very thick, nice hard cover. Covers things in detail like as if you never flown a plane (duh, I guess thats whats its for). I bought the book for my kid, who I plan to take flying soon. The book has lots and lots of pictures, but i think its to the point of being distracting sometimes. But I think its an ok book a lot of money though. I haven't read it all yet, but it seems like a very thorough book.
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Silly and annoying.
- By A Customer from Kelseyville CA USA on Saturday, February 14, 2015
- Pros: The cover was pretty.
- Cons: Just too frustrating. I wanted to learn about flying.
- Review: Hated it. It was painful trying to sift through and keep the jokes and useful data separate. I ended up trying to read with a black sharpie in hand, crossing out the dribble. After two chapters of this, I had marked out a clear third of the text. Don't waste your time. I felt like I was being held hostage by a frustrated (and not funny) stand up wannabe/infomercial host.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 12 Other people found this review helpful.
Too Many Annoying Jokes - A Silly Book
- By R. Lambert from Kelseyville, Ca. on Sunday, December 28, 2014
- Pros: Beautiful Illustrations
- Cons: Absoluteley silly text.
- Review: I simply hated this book. Where I expected a professional but human approach to teaching the subject, what I found was piles and piles of senseless and unnecessary jokes that derailed my thought process while I tried to focus. Perhaps the real information is there, and I tried. I went so far as to take a Sharpie and "line out" all of the paragraphs of silliness and dribble. I lined out a full third of the text. This might be a good book for people who love watching Oprah, but for a serious student, I would advise looking elsewhere for a more professional and intelligent approach.
- Was this review helpful to you? Yes No 5 Other people found this review helpful.
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